


Under the Lilac Tree

by Elveny



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Death, F/M, Grief, Multi, Old Age, Post-Canon, Sad and Happy, Saying good-bye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 08:43:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17680196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elveny/pseuds/Elveny
Summary: They deserved their "happily ever after". And they got it. But age catches up with everyone.





	Under the Lilac Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Nahla and Arryn are Adriene and Fenris' twins.

Adriene brought the three cups out to where Fenris lay on the divan, looking out at the ocean, tucked into the quilt Nahla had made them years ago. The colors were faded and the threads brittle in some places but it was still the only blanket he wanted with him at all times. Adriene put the cups down on the low table next to him and looked out at the sea. They would have to cut the lilac bush back again to maintain the view, she thought. The air was getting cooler as the evening fell but it was still warm enough to sit here for a while. A few bees still buzzed around and Adriene almost absentmindedly plucked a few wilted blossoms from the marguerite before she straightened with a small groan. Her back was acting up again.

"Still no sign of her?" she asked, her eyes on the horizon. They both kept asking this question every time they found each other looking out at the sea. It was nearly twenty years now that Isabela had disappeared beyond those waves and never come back, but some part of her was still on the lookout. It would always be. And so they always put out a plate, a cup, a glass for her, as if she would saunter in at any moment. 

There was no answer and she turned around after a while, looking at him questioningly. He had his eyes closed and did not move and her heart skipped a beat.

"My love?" she asked quietly as she sat down next to him, taking his hand. Her thumb tenderly ran across his lyrium markings. The edges had become less clear with age but the colors were still as brilliant as when she had met him all those decades ago. His skin felt cool in her hands and for a terrible moment she thought she had missed him. Then his fingers slowly curled around hers and his eyes opened. They had lost their clear green years ago when his sight had slowly started to fade but she had never stopped loving looking at them.

"Amata," he whispered and she smiled down at him.

"I thought you'd left again," she teased, her voice only slightly cracked. He chuckled and closed his eyes again, taking a deep, slow breath. The strength in his hands had left him a while ago but now he pressed her fingers more strongly than in several months.

"I told you I'd never leave you again. I'll always be with you," he murmured and Adriene smiled, wiping at a tear in her eyes.

"Come here, you," she said, helping him put his head in her lap and caressed his hair, his cheeks, the many wrinkles crossing his face. Fenris relaxed into the tender touches, a smile playing in the corner of his lips.

"Do you want your tea?" she asked but he just softly shook his head, not opening his eyes again.

"No, thank you. I think I'll sleep for a while," he murmured, his voice slightly slurred, feeling around for her hand. She put her fingers into his and he brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss onto the palm. Then he cradled her hand on his chest, sighing softly.

"You do that," she said tenderly, "my love." Her voice failed at the words but no more tears fell. She could feel his chest rising and falling with his breath as he fell asleep. For a long time, she just watched him, her heart full of love and a quiet sadness. She had known this day would come for a while now. They both had. They had said their goodbyes long ago.

The wind picked up, making the leaves in the tree above them rustle and she looked back out at the ocean. A few petals were torn from the lilac bush, dancing across the breeze out onto the sea, purple flecks disappearing quickly from her view. A long, white strand of hair came free of her braid and fluttered in front of her eyes. As she carefully tucked it back behind her ear, she thought for a moment that she saw a ship on the horizon, a ship with a familiar dark red sail… but when she looked again, there was nothing to be seen. She sank back against the back of the divan, taking a deep breath before she let out a long sigh. Of course she would come to take him home.

His chest had stopped moving and for a moment, her lower lip trembled as the grief hit her. She let the tears fall until the night had claimed the sky before she carefully and slowly laid him back down on the divan to get up. She would clean up and then walk down the road to tell Arryn that he would have to help her with the preparations. The three cups of tea stood silently and cold on the table as she made her way back inside alone.

 


End file.
